Resolutions
by bebe86
Summary: New Years Eve. Four best friends. Four New Year's resolutions. What lengths will each of them go to, to make theirs a reality? AH, slight OOC. Eventual canon pairings. Bella, Alice, Rosalie, Tanya.
1. Chapter 1

So, this is my second fic, and it is an idea that I have had for a while so I hope that you enjoy it.

This story is rated M for mature content.

Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.

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Chapter 1 – The Night it Began

_Bella_

_December 31__st__, 2010_

If you could pick anything in the world as a New Year's Resolution, what would it be? Would you wish for something unoriginal like quitting the smokes or losing weight, or would you try to tackle a meatier problem? Something that could be easily achieved, or something that would take a lot of time and effort on your part?

If I had of known the chaos that would abound from something as simple as a resolution, I would have indeed had second thoughts about participating. What started out as an innocent desire shared between four friends drastically changed our lives forever. For some of us, the result was a good one. Resolution achieved and all parties happy. But for others, nothing good came from it. In fact for some, it was decidedly bad.

Unfortunately, regardless of good and bad, it had changed our lives irreversibly.

One night, four friends, four New Year's resolutions.

Regrettably that night, things all began to change and fall apart around us.

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_Present day, December 31__st__ 2009_

New Year's Eve, the one night of the year that I had always looked forward to, and this year was no different. Tonight, the 'dream team' would be reuniting like clockwork.

Alice, Rosalie, Tanya and myself had all been friends since we were old enough to talk, all having been born and raised in the small, blink and you miss it town of Forks. We were all attached at the hip; every little aspect of our young lives was done as a foursome, and hence, we named ourselves the 'dream team'. We thought we were oh so cool at the time, always referring to our group in this context and berating anybody who dared to actually call us by our given names.

Alice was the fun member of our group – she was always up for a new adventure. Whether it be trying out a new extreme sport or braving the sales, she was the one to suggest, organize and drag our sorry butts wherever she had planned. Almost all of our activities over the years that we had known each other had the Alice stamp of approval all over it. If it didn't meet with her approval, we would all hear about it for weeks to come until we'd all just relent and once again let her take over the reins. Not that any of us really minded; the pressure was off us and we always enjoyed ourselves with Al around.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that she was a sweet, lovely little thing upon first meeting her. At barely five feet tall, she was often mistaken for a child, and many had worn the brunt of her displeasure for treating her as such. Ethereal, fairy-like beauty with energy enough for someone twice her size, our Al was definitely one of a kind.

Fitting for her personality, Al owned a tour company that escorted elite American clients around parts of Europe, South America, Africa and Australia. They offered tours ranging from high end shopping trips to adrenalin fuelled expeditions, and most of her time was spent overseas with her husband Jasper, sourcing out new and exciting destinations. Because of this I rarely got to see her, and when I did, it was usually just a flying visit. Al had mentioned that they were looking to move home permanently in the near future, and I sincerely hoped that this was the case. I missed her and Jasper like crazy; the sooner they were back, the better.

Then there was Rosalie, the true beauty of the group. With golden blond hair, sparkling blue eyes and legs that went on for days, she was truly the dream of every guy and the envy of every girl. While many dismissed her as vain and vapid, she was anything but. Not saying that she didn't know that she was beautiful - of course she did, and people reminded her of that fact time and time again. What people didn't realize however was that she was indeed incredibly intelligent and her temperament was quite serious. If you were loved and respected by Rosie, you had someone in your corner for life. She would stop at nothing to protect those that were near and dear to her, which made her seem aloof and unapproachable to those who didn't know her.

Rosalie had surprised us all by becoming an accountant straight out of college. She had studied Business Management and was completely focused on opening up her own business modifying high end vehicles, but sadly, that idea had been put on the back burner indefinitely. She met Royce King during her last year of college and fell hopelessly in love before the year was out. Normally, we would have all been over the moon for her, but Royce was a real piece of work. He came from a wealthy family, but was disowned while he was at college for his partying ways and general douche-baggery. Rose ended up taking the first job she could when she graduated, which happened to be at a local Port Angeles accountancy firm. Unfortunately, the job of keeping Royce in the manner to which he was accustomed rested solely on Rosie's shoulders. While she worked hard to pay the bills and rent of the apartment, he played hard and drank away almost every dollar she earned. We were all hoping that one day, in the not too distant future, she would wake the hell up from whatever spell he had cast over her.

Tanya was the angel of our group, always the voice of reason. She had the whole good girl vibe; she studied hard and often, and only partied reluctantly when we wouldn't leave her in peace. Everyone loved her, though she never really let anyone in apart from the three of us. She was a bit of a mystery to most people, and I must admit, there were times when even I didn't think I knew the real Tanya. Don't get me wrong - she was a valued friend to all of us, though over the years she had kind of drifted a little further away.

There were two loves in Tanya's life. The first being her long-term boyfriend Edward and the second, ballet – though not in that particular order. Ballet had been a passion of hers for most of her life, and it was no surprise to anyone when she decided to not attend college and follow her dream of becoming a ballerina. She was currently a soloist performer for Pacific Northwest Ballet, having just been promoted from the corps de ballet ranks, but I knew that she was truly aiming for principal dancer. Knowing Tanya it wouldn't be long before she achieved it either; her determination was unparalleled.

Tanya and Edward had been dating for almost four years, having met while waiting in line for coffee. Of course he was attracted to her beauty, her strawberry blond hair and her lithe dancer's body. Who wouldn't be? But believe me when I say that Edward was no slouch in that department either. With his unruly hair, piercing green eyes and a jaw line that would put one Mr. Pitt to shame, he truly was a god like specimen of male goodness. Team that with a killer smile and being a genuinely nice person, I would say that Tanya was one lucky lady. Unfortunately for me, I had been suffering from a little Edward crush from the moment that I met him. I felt a connection the instant we shook hands, and I had to constantly remind myself over the years that he was most certainly off limits. Like I would have a chance anyway.

To round off the 'dream team' was me. Isabella Swan, Bella to my friends and all round average girl. If I were honest I would say that I was relatively good looking. Not a patch on Rosie or Tanya, but I wouldn't send little kids running in horror if they looked upon me either. Average height, average weight, average intellect – yep, very run of the mill.

For now I held down two jobs. My main job was with the Peninsula Daily News, the local Port Angeles rag. I would love to say that I was a writer of said newspaper, but regrettably I couldn't. I sold advertising four days a week, a completely unfulfilling job. On the fifth day I was allowed to tag along with one of the feature writers, to try and pick up any tricks of the trade, but it was done on my own time and truthfully I didn't really learn anything useful.

Any spare time was allocated to my second job, the highly glamorous position of dog walker. It sounds strange even to me, but it was by far my favorite job. The dogs never talked back to give me grief, I spent my afternoons outdoors and keeping fit, and though the money wasn't great, it certainly helped to feed the beast that is my book addiction.

I had no men to speak of in my life, apart from my dad and Jake. Charlie was a large part of my life; I barely went a day without having contact with him in one way or another. Since my mom left just before my teenage years, he was literally my whole world growing up. Jake had been a family friend for as long as I could remember. He had harboured a crush on me for many years, and only recently had accepted the fact that we would be nothing more than close friends. My relief at his reluctant acceptance was palpable, and when he started to date Leah not long after, I was overwhelmed with happiness for him – and for me.

I had dated off and on throughout high school and college, nothing that was particularly intense or long lasting. Mike in high school had lasted about six months, the strain of our barely sexual relationship took its toll on him and he left to look for greener – or should I say easier – pastures.

Next I had dated Alec for almost a year in college and surrendered my v card to him, only for him to succeed in taking the same thing from two other girls at the same time. Needless to say the whole thing was over the moment I found out that Alec had more than one girlfriend.

My relationship with Felix had lasted a little longer and was more serious, though I never felt like he was 'the one' for me. Maybe I read too many romantic novels, but I couldn't get past the fact that I never once felt butterflies during the time we were together, and god forbid I ever achieve the 'big O' while we were having sex. In the end I called it quits, for which my heart, head and hoohah were all thankful.

So through all of the years, the 'dream team' stayed the best of friends and kept in touch in any way that we could. We had decided that we needed a way to make sure that we all got together at least once a year, and a tradition of sorts was started during our last year of high school.

New Year's Eve was our specialty. It became the time of year that no matter where we were, what we were doing or whom we were with, we dropped everything and met down at La Push beach for drinks, gossip and a reflection of the year that passed. Without a doubt it was my favorite time of year, and I couldn't control my excitement as the time drew closer for us all to be reunited.

I hadn't seen all my girls in quite some time. Rosalie and I managed to catch up with each other a couple of times a week. We were both still living in Port Angeles and not living far from each other. Sadly, the last time I had seen Tanya and Alice had been New Years Day last year, though I couldn't remember much of what transpired that day. As was our habit, far too much alcohol had been consumed the night before. The result? Conversations were reduced to mere grunts and nobody had a hope in hell of remembering anything of any importance. We had spoken many, many times over the phone, and of course sent emails, but it was nothing like catching up in person.

So, with fond memories of my friends, I stepped out of my apartment and jumped into the beast. My red truck had been with me through thick and thin since my last year of high school, and I patted her lovingly as I bounced into the driver's seat. I was sure to get hell from the gang when they saw that the beast was still alive and kicking, but as long she still had life in her, she was going to remain by my side.

I pulled into the parking lot at the far end of La Push, and grabbed all of the essentials that I had packed from the rear of the cab. Blanket, nibblies, music and last but not least, the drinks.

As I descended down toward the beach, I could see a bonfire already started and a vague outline of three people. As I drew closer, I could identify them as three of the most important people in my life.

Rose let out a loud whistle, and I looked over to them to find them all waving, so I lifted my hand in salute and began to race over to the fire. I never saw the small pieces of driftwood in the sand until it was too late; I managed to stumble twice and was met with loud cheers and whistles.

"Way to go, Belly," Rose called out, as she raised her wine glass to me in salute.

"I'm glad to see some things never change," Al added, as she raced over to me and took some things out of my arms.

"Ready for a drink, Bells?" Tanya joined in, as she pulled several bottles of wine from her bag.

"Hell, yeah," I replied with a laugh, as reached in for my margarita mix, salt and martini glasses. "Though I'm gonna need some of these to start things off. What do you say, are you all in?" Like I needed to ask. Some things just go hand in hand, like the dream team and margaritas.

"Bring it, baby," yelled Rose. She jumped to her feet to help salt the glasses, then passed out the drinks when they were ready.

"Not just yet thanks, Rosie," Al said as she declined the drink. "I might just sit this one out for now."

We all looked at her incredulously and wondered what the hell was up with Alice. She was normally the instigator of all things alcoholic, the first with a drink in her hand and the first to start the partying.

She gave us all a look that clearly said 'not now', so I dropped it and raised my glass in a toast.

"To absent friends, may it never be so long between drinks again," I sang out, as everyone raised their glassed and took a sip.

"To the dream team, the fucking greatest group of friends a girl could ever ask for," called out Rosie, and again we all raised our glasses.

"To a new year, and making all of our dreams come true," added Tanya, as she took a large gulp from her margarita.

"To celebrating the old, and embracing the new," Al joined in, and raised her glass of water.

Once the toasts were out of the way, we all huddled together and hugged each other while we laughed and gossiped our way through many more drinks. It felt so good and right to be in each other's company again, but it also made me sad that we could not meet up more often.

I shook the gloomy thoughts away, and turned my concentration to Al who was standing up and clearing her throat loudly.

"Right girls, I think we need to start a new tradition, right here, right now. What do you say?" she asked.

"Depends Al, you don't want us to streak down the beach butt naked or anything do you? You know I'd do it anyway, don't you. Just for shits and giggles of course," Rose laughed. She would too; it wouldn't take much persuasion on our part to get her streaking down the beach.

"Nothing like that Rosie. I was just thinking, that every year, we all say that we want to get to the gym more, eat healthier food, blah, blah, blah. What if we each came up with a resolution, a really meaningful one, something that we want more than anything else? You know, we aren't getting any younger guys. My birthday is next month and I am going to be twenty-eight. Twenty-freakin-eight! I seriously need to get my shit together, and maybe, just maybe this will give me the push that I need." Al was serious, there was obviously something playing on her mind, but I for one thought it was a fantastic idea.

"For starters, Al," I looked directly at her, "you are one of the most organised people I know. You are married to the love of your life, you own your own successful business and you get to travel the world. What push could you honestly need?" She was seriously one of the most put together people I knew.

"You'd be surprised, Bella. But that can wait for later. Okay, so who's in?" She questioned, as she stared down each and every one of us. None of us could ever really say no to Al, and this time was no exception.

"Sure, sure. Count me in," I piped up straight away. No sense in prolonging the inevitable.

"Me too," Tanya said quietly. She looked deep in thought; no doubt she was already working on her resolution.

"All for one, and one for all," Rose shouted, as she again raised her glass.

Many drinks and bucket loads of cheers later, Tanya reminded us that it was indeed only ten more seconds until midnight. This started off another round of cheers as we drunkenly counted down the numbers.

"3 – 2 – 1 …. Happy New Year!" The sound of our combined voices just about drowned out the crashing of the waves, as we all sang, laughed and revelled in our current happiness.

Once all of the hype had calmed down, we sat down in a small circle on the blanket, all of us holding hands.

"Right, so are we going to do it then. This resolution thing, I mean," I questioned them all. In unison we all nodded our heads.

"Okay, so let me go first then, after all is was my brilliant idea," Al chortled to herself, as we all threw remnants of our leftovers in her direction.

"Sure, sure, get it started, Al." It was all the encouragement that she needed.

"Sooooo, my new years resolution is…" she dragged out the words. We all waited quietly to hear what she could possibly want to change or add to her life.

"Come on, Al." Rose said, impatience had started to color her tone.

I don't know what I had expected, but it was so totally not what she went on to say. My jaw dropped open, as did those of Tanya and Rose.

If this was any indication of how the rest of the night was going to go, it was certainly going to be interesting and a night never to forget.

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A/N: I hope that you all enjoyed the first chapter. Would love to hear any thoughts that you have.

And do you have any ideas about Alice's New Year's resolution?


	2. Chapter 2 The First Resolution

Thank you to those that read and reviewed the first chapter. It is encouraging to get a positive response, you never know if people are going to be interested in your story or not. Hopefully you continue to enjoy it.

This story is rated M for mature content.

I do not own Twilight.

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Chapter 2

_Alice_

_December 31__st__ 2010 _

I had the television on for background noise, if only to remind myself that life did go on and that there were people out there enjoying themselves on New Year's Eve. I stared at the happy faces on the screen as I tried to forget the last year of my life.

Exactly one year ago today - almost to the exact minute – I had my four best friends around me as we toasted the coming of the New Year. Our faces were flushed with excitement, our hearts were light and our optimism overflowed; we all knew that change was in the air. Foolishly we did not consider that all change would not be good. That possibility did not even enter our heads.

Exactly one year ago today, I suggested that we all make resolutions, ones that would indeed alter the course of our lives. It had almost turned into a competition of sorts, each one of us pushing each other and ourselves to the brink, determined to succeed no matter what. If only I could have known the future back then. If only I could go back and change everything. If only…

_Present day, 31__st__ December 2009_

"3-2-1…Happy New Year!"

I looked around at my group of friends and laughed, truly caught up in the moment. I was bursting at the seams from holding my news in, and could not wait to share it a minute longer.

"Right, so are we going to do it then. This resolution thing, I mean," Bella asked us all.

"Okay, so let me go first then, after all it was my flippin' brilliant idea," I said with a laugh.

"Sure, sure, get it started. And god forbid you actually curse, Al. You do know that you are an adult now, don't you?" As always, Rose was the smart alec who had to pick up my lack of swearing. Ever since I could remember, it just made me feel uncomfortable, and none of the girls ever let me live it down.

"Sooooo, my new years resolution is…" I drawled, trying to put as much suspense into my announcement as I could.

"Come on, Al." Rose said, impatient as always.

"Well, you have probably noticed that I didn't partake in tonight's beverages, and you no doubt have guessed…"

"I knew it. Congratulations, Al, I'm so happy for you," Rose squealed as she bounced over in my direction.

"Careful Rose, precious cargo on board," added Bella, as she hugged me from the side and whispered her own best wishes.

"Well done, Ali. You and Jasper will be the best parents," Tanya chimed in as she wedged in for her own hug.

"Thanks guys, I knew you would think something was off when I refused our infamous Margaritas." I had given up all of my little vices, alcohol included, from the moment that Jasper and I decided to try and start a family. I would do whatever it took to make sure that this baby was healthy and happy.

"So, Al, we need details. How far along are you, was it planned, do you have names picked out yet?"

"Holy buckets, Rose, one question at a time!" I knew that Rosalie would be over the moon at the news. Having a family has always been number one on her list, and she would be the best - if somewhat over protective - aunt that any child could ask for.

"Okay, so I am only about 6 weeks along. We were going to wait to tell everyone, but I just couldn't keep it from you guys any longer. It's the reason that we are moving back to Port Angeles in a month, and …."

"What!" All three of my girls yelled at the same time.

"Oh, right. I forgot to tell you that. Jazz and I are moving back to the Port at the end of the month. We figured that we can still organise and set up tours from anywhere, and where better than the place we all grew up and where my girls are." I shrugged; it really was a no brainer. Jasper and I had had enough of the travelling and living out of a suitcase, and we wanted somewhere that felt like home to raise a family.

"Al, this is the best news. Ever!" Bella shouted, doing a little jig on the blanket and promptly falling over her own two left feet.

"We can't wait to move back, we have just been waiting for the right time I guess. And to answer your questions Rose, yes, it was planned and no, no names yet. I'm hoping that you guys will provide me with some inspiration." I was sure to be bombarded with names from the girls. In fact, the serious look of contemplation on their faces already told me that they had already started to think about it.

"So, no need to throw any names my way just yet. We are going to find out the sex of the baby, so as soon as I know, I will spread the good word."

For a couple of minutes we all just sat in silence, as we enjoyed the atmosphere and the company.

"Okay, Al. The news is wonderful and all, but I thought that this was going to be your resolution - to start a family this year. It's already a done deal, so what is your resolution going to be? A natural birth, maybe? You know, no drugs or anything." Bella looked at me with interest. I'm surprised she even remembered the resolutions with the amount of alcohol she had in her system. One thing about Bella and alcohol; they did not mix. At all.

"Oh, I had forgotten about that in all of the excitement. And can I just say, do you even know me at all, Bella? Natural and I do not exist in the same sentence. Anything that will take away the pain is just fine with me. In fact, the more the merrier. Load me up and I'm good to go!" I couldn't resist a shudder as I thought about going through childbirth with nothing to mask the pain. When I said that Bella and alcohol do not mix well, the same can be said for pain and me. In fact, I had been known in the past to pass out before the needle even got anywhere near my arm when I gave blood. The very thought of it was enough to send me running for the hills.

"No, it's actually something quite serious, and something that I haven't told anyone, except Jazz of course, before now," I said when I noticed that they had quieted down a little.

"When I told mom and dad our good news, they decided to pass on a little something to me as well. Turns out, I'm adopted, and my parents never knew the right time to tell me. I guess they figured that now that I am about to start my own family, I should know the truth. My birth mother was apparently young, unwed and pregnant with an unwanted child. My father was not even listed on the birth certificate, so he must not have wanted to have anything to do with the whole situation. Anyways, I was taken to an orphanage, and the rest, as they say, is history. My mom and dad adopted me, and raised me to be none the wiser."

Even though I had learned all of this a couple of weeks ago and had just stated the facts, I was only a couple of sentences in before the tears fell. It still hurt that my parents had taken so long to tell me, and that I had a family out there that I had never had the opportunity to know.

The girls were instantly by my side, and as they hugged and comforted me, I knew that I had made the right decision to get it out into the open. I had briefly considered not telling anyone and just going on with my life, but I really needed to come to terms with this, and I was positive that they would all help me.

"Thanks guys, for being there for me. It means more than you'll ever know." Tanya handed me a tissue, and Rose gave me a squeeze.

"All right, so where were we? Right, so now I know that I am adopted, and all I can think about is finding my birth mother and learning a little bit more about her. And that is where my resolution comes in. This year, I am going to find her. I know her name, the hospital that I was born in and the orphanage that I was taken to. Shouldn't be too hard, right?" I raised my eyes to the circle of friends and I noticed that all of them had tears in their eyes.

"Guys, please don't cry. I know that it is a lot of information to deal with, but I am seriously okay with it all, and now I just need to move on. Besides, I have happy things to deal with, like moving back here and setting up house – complete with nursery and all." That got the desired result, and everyone broke out in smiles once again.

"I'm going to be an aunty," cried Rose as she started to pour another round of cocktails. It was no fun being the only sober one, but I certainly would not miss the hangover tomorrow morning.

"So are we," added Tanya and Bella, with their arms already extended for another drink. Hopeless cases, all three of them. And I couldn't love them any more than I did right now.

Minutes ticked by, cocktails were consumed and the conversation got sillier. It wasn't long before Tanya, Rose and Bella were all fighting to stand in the center of our picnic rug.

"What the flip are you all doing?" I asked, only to be laughed at by one and all.

"We all want to be next with our resolutions," Rose yelled, simultaneously pushing the others out of the way.

"So I guess the floor is yours then, Rose. So let's have it. What does the new year have in store for you?"

I already knew what her resolution was going to be. Rosalie was always transparent in almost every aspect of her life. For the past few years, all of her dreams had settled around that mother trucker Royce. We had all vocalised our dislike of him over the years, but Rose would never listen to a word that any one of us had uttered. She was such a smart and independent woman, and none of us could figure out how she put up with his heavy-handed tactics and complete domination. We were all hoping that she would figure it out on her own.

"Weellll, I've been thinking long and hard about this," she started, as her gaze swept over the three of us. One thing that Rose could do exceptionally well was control a crowd – she knew she had our undivided attention.

"This year is going to be the year of the rose, where all of my dreams will finally come true. That is why, the only resolution that I have for 2010 is…"

Taking a leaf out of my book, Rose had decided to draw it out. As I looked around our little circle, I noticed that we were all on the edge of our seats, or blankets as it may be.

As she continued to talk, I plastered a smile on my face and pretended that I was as excited about this as she was. For once in my life, I really hoped like heck that one of my closest friends didn't realise their dream. Unfortunately for Rose, I saw similar expressions on the remainder of the dream team. I just hoped that we could all be there for Rose, whether we liked it or not.

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A/N: Thanks for taking the time to read. So, Rose's resolution is more predictable. Guesses, anyone?

Reviews are welcome.


	3. Chapter 3 The Predictable Resolution

Thank you to those that have read and reviewed. It helps to know that there are some out there who are enjoying it.

This story is rated M.

I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters.

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Chapter 3

_Rosalie_

_December 31__st__ 2010_

I could hear the New Year's Eve celebrations on the television downstairs. For one small moment I felt sad that I was not surrounded by the 'dream team' like every other year. Our end of year celebrations were the highlight of my year normally. The girls were pretty much my life, and celebrating the year that passed and the one to come was always my favorite night of the year. Wherever they were tonight, I hoped that they were happy.

It had been a tumultuous year for us all, to say the least. Fuck, that was a gross understatement. Turbulent, disturbing and downright gone to hell in a hand basket were more apt descriptions, and a chain of events were set in motion that night that none of us could have guessed.

As much as I was upset with the rift that had occurred between some of us, I could never regret making that resolution this time last year. I had finally realized my dream, and the love of my life waited for me upstairs.

"Babe, get that fine ass back into bed," my prince called from the bedroom. Yeah, corny shit but that's just how I roll when it comes to him. While some – and by that I mean all - of my friends were skeptical of our relationship, the heart wants what the heart wants, and who am I to argue with that?

"Coming, sugar," I yelled, as I made my way slowly up the stairs.

"Hurry up, Rosie! You know what they say about New Year's Eve. Whatever you are doing at the start of the New Year, you will be doing for the rest of the year. And I want to be balls deep for the entire year!" One thing I can say about my man – he has a way with words and a filthy fucking mouth. Perfect - well for me anyway.

"On my way, babe." I opened the door to see a naked god before me as he worked on himself. God, the guy was insatiable, but oh so hot. I hurried over to the bed and made short work of my clothing. If I didn't get a move on, he would be pleasuring himself as the clocked chimed midnight, and there was no way that I wanted _that_ to be our omen for the coming year.

When I reached his side, naked as the day I was born, he reverently placed his hand on my belly followed by a quick kiss.

"Okay, daddy, time to work your magic." And with that statement, he got to work. Oh, it was going to be a very pleasurable year ahead indeed.

_December 31__st__ 2009_

"This year is going to be the year of the rose, where all of my dreams will finally come true. That is why, the only resolution that I have for 2010 is…"

Just like Ali did before me, I drew out my sentence to create a little suspense. I knew that it was unnecessary though as I am almost positive that they all knew what I was about to say. It had been my dream for almost as long as they had known me, a dream that I had always been very vocal about.

"…to get married and make a start on my family." I looked around the circle, waiting for the oohs and ahs. All I was met with was quiet.

Finally Tanya broke the awkward silence.

"What, with Royce?" It was only an innocent question, but the incredulity in her voice immediately got my back up.

"Of course with Royce. Who the fuck else would it be?" Again, here came the crickets.

"We know you mean him honey, but we didn't think that things were going that well with you guys," Bella added as she sheepishly looked at all of us in turn. I mean I knew that Royce and the girls had their differences, but I honestly thought that they would be happy for me.

"We have our ups and down, like any normal couple," I answered quite defensively. Sure, there were things about him and his behavior that upset me, but that was normal, right?

"I thought that you guys would be supportive of me, that if I was happy, then you all would be too." I had this discussion with all of them numerous times in the past, and I was really not in the mood to revisit them again.

"You know that we all just want you to be happy, Rose. I just think that you deserve the best, that's all, and I'm not sure if Royce is the best man for the job. But you're right, if this is what you really want, then we will support you one hundred and ten percent." Al said all the right words, but I could still hear the uncertainty in her voice.

"I agree with Al. He may not be who we would choose for you, but it's not our decision. As long as you are happy, then so are we." At least Tanya sounded a little more sincere.

"I second that," was all Bella said as she got up and gave me a big hug.

"So, how are you going to go about it? Has he hinted that he is going to propose soon?"

"I don't know just yet, Ali, but it will happen. I think that I will just start with some subtle hints, and if that doesn't work then _I _may just ask _him_. Hell, I am a modern woman and there is no shame in doing the asking." I tried hard to sound convincing. I was secretly hoping that I wouldn't have to be the one to pop the question - that Royce would man the fuck up for once. Unfortunately though, I wasn't going to hold my breath. I had a horrible feeling that I would indeed be the one doing the asking.

"And as soon as we are engaged, I want to have the wedding pretty much straight away and get at it, if you get my drift." A look of confusion crossed Tanya's face. Christ, if I didn't know that the girl was already getting some from Edward, I would have believed her to be an innocent. At times she appeared so virginal and she rarely dished on her personal experiences. Most references to sex went completely over her head.

"Tanya, don't look so confused. I meant that I wanted to try for a baby as soon as that ring is on my finger. If I wasn't so traditional, I would just try straight away, but I want to do things the right way around."

"You. Traditional? Oh, puh-lease, Rose." Bella rolled her eyes at me before she cracked up with laughter.

"What? I am," I argued.

"Just because we are already sleeping together and living together, doesn't mean that I'm not traditional. And the fact that I may propose to him is just showing my confidence. So what if I want to get married barefoot and on the beach." The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I really didn't have a traditional bone in my body.

"Okay, so I'm the polar opposite of traditional. But this one thing, I really want to do the right way around. Besides," I added, "who wants to look like a beached fucking whale on their wedding day?" At this we all started to laugh. I was glad that some of that earlier tension had been broken.

"So, a beach wedding then? Will you get Angela's dad to conduct the ceremony?"

"Yeah, I've always wanted a beach wedding. There is nothing more romantic than being barefoot on the beach, the wind blowing in your hair and the sound of the waves crashing in the background. Royce will be handsome in his long pants rolled up at the bottom, his white shirt un-tucked and casual and the setting sun shining off his golden locks. We will kiss just as the sun sets, the photo captured for all to see and for us to show our grandchildren as we rock in our chairs. And the wedding night, well let's just say that nine months from then all will know that we truly consummated our love on the night of our union."

A sigh went up all around our little circle; each girl was off in their own little world.

"I can definitely see the appeal in that, Rose," Bella gushed, her face a pale shade of pink. She was always the romantic, and could no doubt picture herself as the blushing bride. Bella thought she had us all fooled and that we didn't know about her little crush on Edward. Luckily for all involved, Tanya and Edward were none the wiser.

"Here's to Rosalie, Royce, the dream wedding and the patter of tiny feet," Ali cheered as she raised her glass.

"Here, here," agreed Bella and Tanya as they poured out more drinks and raised their glasses.

I knew in my heart that they hoped I would change my mind. But I also knew without a doubt that they would support me in whatever decision I made.

"So, who's up next?" I asked.

"I'll go," Tanya volunteered. This was going to be interesting. I had a vague idea of what she would want, but with Tanya I could never be sure. While I loved her like a sister, every now and then I would have the disturbing feeling that I didn't know her quite as well as I thought I did.

Tanya was a very dedicated ballerina, which led me to believe that it would be something to do with her career. On the other hand, she had been seeing Edward for years now, and it wouldn't surprise me either if it had something to do with him.

"Right, well you guys have known me for virtually my whole life, you all know my dreams and desires, so I'm sure this will come as no surprise. My resolution for 2010 is…"

Okay, so what she said didn't really surprise me. But the way she said it, with such conviction. I almost felt like I had witnessed something that I shouldn't have – that now she had told us, she would have to kill us. Ridiculous, I know, but that still didn't stop the shiver that ran down my spine.

In retrospect, it may have just been a warning to not be surprised about how she went about making it happen. It also might have been a premonition that things were going to seriously change for us all. But in actuality, in that moment, I only felt like I didn't really know the girl that stood before me.

A/N: So, Alice's resolution was a bit of a surprise, but I'm sure most of you guessed Rosalie's. What are your thoughts about Tanya's?

Thanks for reading....and hopefully reviewing!!


	4. Chapter 4 The Ambitious Resolution

Thank you to all who have read, reviewed, marked as favorite and put on alert. I truly do appreciate your support.

This story is rated M.

I do not own.

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Chapter 4 – The Ambitious Resolution

_Tanya_

_December 31__st__ 2010 _

All of my life I had only one dream, one goal.

While other little girls imagined their knight in shining armour sweeping them off their feet and into the sunset, I imagined being swept off my feet literally, to soar through the air in the arms of a fellow dancer. While they talked about their wedding day and wedding dress, I talked about my concert recitals and costumes. And while others discussed their first kiss in great detail, I explained the thrill I had when I received my first standing ovation.

Growing up had not been effortless for me. I didn't make friends easily, and if it hadn't been for the 'dream team', I no doubt would have been utterly alone.

Most girls had seemed to be intimidated by me. Generally adolescent girls can be cruel and by the time I was a teenager, I was often ostracised for my good looks and family wealth. In most cases this would garner popularity, but unfortunately I was deemed not approachable, therefore labelled a snob and cast aside.

The boys however were no better. If they weren't trying to get in my pants to tame 'Forks' ice queen', they completely ignored me. It seemed that they were threatened by my determination and drive to achieve my dreams, and god forbid they actually be involved with someone who had ambition in this small town.

All of this had never really bothered me much though. Alice, Bella and Rose were all that I ever needed. They honestly believed that everyone liked me, but I knew better. They never saw the looks, or heard the whispers as I walked past. But it didn't matter. Every step of the way, all three were by my side and supportive of every decision that I ever made.

But as much as they were like the sisters I always wanted, there were occasionally times when I felt like the fourth Musketeer. These moments were few and far between, but every now and then I felt like I just didn't have quite the connection that the other three had. I had to admit that this was mostly down to me though. Sometimes I tended to distance myself from everyone and anyone, I had always been too independent for my own good. And sometimes - like now – it was to my own detriment.

The last twelve months had been crazy to say the least. I would never have guessed that I would be sitting in our bonfire spot at the beach on New Year's Eve – by myself. I had never felt this lonely before in my life.

I wasn't totally delusional though – I kind of knew that nobody else would turn up for our usual gathering, bit it didn't stop me from hoping all the same.

In the distance, I could hear fireworks. The New Year had arrived and was being celebrated by everyone. Well, mostly everyone. As I sank to the ground, I contemplated how alone I really was now. I couldn't stop the silent sobs that racked my body, coming from deep within as I hung my head in despair and shame.

I was so caught up in my own misery that I did not notice that I was being watched the whole time, and I certainly did not notice that after watching my breakdown, they slowly headed in my direction.

_December 31__st__ 2009, _

"Right, well you guys have known me for virtually my whole life, you all know my dreams and desires, so I'm sure this will come as no surprise. My resolution for 2010 is…"

Well if it was good enough for Alice and Rose to pause for effect, then it was good enough for me. I had to add a little suspense as well, and I was always best known for my theatrical performances.

"Yeah, yeah. We get it Tanya. Spit it out." Rose still hadn't learned any patience.

"Okay. So my resolution is to make principal dancer. Surprise!" I yelled sarcastically. Of course they new that this was my goal; as if I had ever indicated wanting anything else.

"I don't care what I have to do or who has to go to make way for me, but one way or another, I _will_ be top dog on that stage if it kills me. It just has to be, and this year it will happen, believe me."

All I was met with was silence. So I may have been a little emphatic with my statement, but they didn't have to respond like I was a serial killer confessing to a murder.

Finally Alice cleared her throat and broke the rising tension.

"Surprise indeed. We have all know that this was your goal since your tenth birthday and we saw the local production of "Swan Lake". Can't you give us something different - something exciting? Something like, oh I don't know, a love child with Edward or a secret passion for pole dancing." Good to know that Alice could still crack a joke even though she was missing out on the cocktails.

"The pole-dancing thing, just ugh, Alice. Not ever going to happen. And Edward is…well Edward. I love him but I'm just not interested in marriage and babies. Maybe one day I'll change my mind, but not now. Not for awhile." Everyone went quiet, except for Bella who just sighed. I didn't understand why they all were so melancholy after my announcement.

"So what are you going to do differently this year, you know, to be _top dog_ as you say?"

"That, my dear Rose, I have not figured out as yet. I have a couple of weeks off to come up with some sort of genius plan, and then I will let you know. Hell, you may all be even able to help me in some small way." I did have an idea of what I wanted – no needed- to do, but there was no way that I was going to share it at this moment. Somehow, I didn't think that they would understand at all.

Everyone had fallen silent again, and I needed to move onto another topic. The less I talked about my plans the better.

"So where are all your better halves tonight?" Time to get onto a relatively safe subject.

"Jasper is out with some old school friends, something about hitting a couple of local bars and celebrating our good news as well as the New Year." As always, she got that faraway look in her eye when she spoke of Jasper. I couldn't help the twinge of jealousy that I felt.

Not that I was jealous of the fact that her and Jasper were married and expecting a baby. I couldn't think of anything worse to tell you the truth. I was just jealous that she could feel so much for one person, and then have that adoration returned in spades.

They were in for a rough year though, with the search for Alice's birth mom and all. Alice was always an optimistic, upbeat person, but I couldn't help but feel that on top of the pregnancy, it would put strain on their relationship. Hormones and all that could seriously change a person, and I really hoped that it didn't engulf their relationship.

"Where's Edward?" Bella asked whiled digging her feet in the sand.

"I'm not sure, really. I think he said something about meeting up with his older brother who lives out of state." It made me feel kind of bad, that I couldn't remember exactly where he was going or what he was up to.

I loved Edward. Truly. But I don't know if I ever felt that overwhelming need to be in his presence. I enjoyed our time together. The sex was pretty good. He was incredibly handsome and he had a ton of money. What more could I ask for?

Our relationship was kind of like a well-worn pair of shoes, as horrid as that sounds. It was comfortable - he was a perfect fit for me. We had never had the type of relationship that was all consuming and awe-inspiring, but we were happy and content in each other's company. At this stage in my life, it was exactly what I needed - especially now that I was going to do everything in my power to land my dream job. The less complications in my personal life, the better.

Rose's response to my earlier question about the boys dragged me out of my musings.

"Royce said that he was going to some big party thrown by one of his friends. There's always some sort of party happening, special occasion or not. Sometimes it worries me, what with him not having a job and all, but I'm sure that it will all stop when we get married and pregnant." Rose shrugged her shoulders, while I looked incredulously at the other girls. They all wore the same look of disbelief on their face that I did.

Why such a smart, beautiful and talented woman gave two shits about an asshole like Royce I'd never know. She did everything for him, and he gave her nothing in return. When she said that to marry him was her resolution, it made me want to gag. Not just because it was the furthest thing from my own dream, but for the fact that if she tied herself down to that loser, she was as good as lost to us. He made no secret of his dislike for the three of us, and unfortunately Rose was completely oblivious to his childish and disgusting behaviour. My only hope was that she woke up to him and his ways of her own accord in the very near future.

"So Bella, how about you?" I asked her. I had to get my mind of the despicable Royce.

"How about me what?" she said, eyebrows arched. "Do you mean my resolution?"

"Well, eventually yes. But I wanted to know where your guy is tonight?" I knew that she didn't have a boyfriend, but thought that maybe she was keeping a little secret from us. Bella never really spoke too much about the men in her life.

"What do you mean, my guy? You all know that I'm not seeing anyone at the moment, and that is just fine with me. Between my jobs and my dad, I have plenty to keep me occupied." There was no way that I bought that story, and I know that neither did Alice or Rose. Bella was a pure romantic. If she could step into one of her classic period novels, she would do it in a heartbeat.

"Come on, Bells. Who do you think you are talking to? You know that you can tell us anything. Is there someone that you fancy at least that you will tell us about?" Alice prodded.

"Yeah, Belly. You can tell us. Who is it? Please don't tell me it's that boy from the reservation? The one that follows you with the puppy dog eyes all of the time." Rose did not like Jacob for some reason. I had no idea why. He seemed like a pretty decent guy to me, even if he was a little shaggy around the edges. He doted on Bella and she could do a lot worse for herself.

"You mean Jake, Rose. Don't pretend like you don't know his name. And no, I don't harbour a secret crush on Jacob. In fact, I think that he has started to see someone else. He hasn't been around as much lately, and has really backed off trying to convince me how good we could be together. Thank God, I don't know if I could have continued with our friendship if he kept pushing things all of the time. I'm just glad that I don't have to worry about that now."

"So stop avoiding, Bella. We know how you feel about Jacob. Is there anyone else you have your eye on?" I could tell that she was squirming and trying to get out of answering the question.

"Uh, no. No one at all." If she thought that any of us bought that lame ass answer than she had another thing coming.

"Wrong answer, chicky. I need details…now." Leave it to Rose to get straight to the point.

"How about I just tell you about my resolution?" Avoidance, thy name is Bella.

"Sure, but only if it involves this mystery man of yours." Good one, Rose. Now we're back on track with the Bella interrogation.

"Just shut it Rose, and let me speak," Bella answered, and I could only wonder what her resolution would be. She was not overly ambitious, so I didn't think it would have something to do with her job. She did not have a boyfriend, so it couldn't be a proposal or family planning.

"I haven't really put a lot of thought into this, and I'm not quite sure what I want to make my resolution yet. I have a couple of ideas though. Maybe you can all help me decide?"

We all looked at each other as we nodded our heads. Every one of us would do whatever we could to help her.

"Well, the ideas I have are…"

None of her ideas were unattainable or earth shattering like Alice's, predictable like mine or objectionable like Rose's. In fact, all were achievable and totally Bella. All we wanted was to see Bella happy, and to come out of her shell a little. Maybe she could do that with one of those resolutions. I just hoped we picked the right one for her.

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A/N: So most of you guessed correctly for Tanya and Rose. What are your thoughts for Bella's resolution?

Hope you all enjoyed it, and if so, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks.....


	5. Chapter 5 Bella:the Safe Resolution

F**irst of all, major apologies for the huge delay in updating. House guests, holidays, lost laptop. You name it, it happened. No excuse really, but I am really embarrassed about how long it took me to get this up. Hopefully, you won't have to wait this long in the future.**

**Secondly, this story is rated M for mature content.**

**Last but not least, I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters. *sigh***

_Bella_

_December 31, 2009_

"Well, the ideas I have are…" and from there I went blank. Three faces stared at me expectantly, like I was about to announce the cure for cancer or the solution for world peace. Somehow, I didn't think they would be on board with my ever growing obsession with my best friend's boyfriend, and announcing a plan to lure him over to the dark side would not have gone over well.

"Guys, this is so hard, I really don't know what I want from the New Year," I blurted. I was met only with open mouths and eye rolls, all of which I thoroughly deserved.

"Come on Bella, don't over think this. Just say the first things that pop into your mind," Tanya encouraged.

"Ok, so I guess I wouldn't mind a promotion at work – you know, to actually have a half decent job at the paper." See, that wasn't so hard, and I really did want to be a journalist.

"Ooh, and I would love for Charlie to meet someone. You know all he ever does is work these days. I just want to see him happy."

"Bel…" Alice began, but I cut her off before she could complain about my ideas.

"And I would kill for one of those espresso machines, you know the ones where you need to just press one button and instant latte. Now _that, _that would make my year. But then again, if I won the lottery, I could just buy ten of them. One for each of my houses across the globe. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea – a mother fucking lottery win!" Really, how could anyone argue that point?

"Ha-fucking-ha, Bella. We're not making a list of all the things we want in the world. We just need a resolution, something achievable for you to aim for in 2010. Just pick something already." Rose never really was patient, and I guess neither were the others judging from the look on their faces.

"So let's get this straight. We're scratching the lottery ideas, and the coffee machines along with it." Alice was taking control, and I just knew that she was going to tell me my resolution.

"I also noticed that you didn't mention anything regarding romance, Bella. Not even one mention of Prince Charming." Ah yes, my love life – the bain of Alice's existence. "How could you possibly not be interested in meeting your soul mate?"

Was I interested in meeting that special someone? Honestly, hell fucking yes. Was I going to say it out loud? No goddamn way.

"I haven't really thought about it too much, Al. I guess it's just not a priority for me right now." I subtly ran I finger over my nose, just double-checking that it wasn't growing. If I said it enough times, surely it would be true. Right?

"Okay, enough of this crap. As I see it, from all of that nonsense, you have three options," Rose stated.

"One, you want a promotion at work. Totally doable and a pretty good resolution. Two, you want your dad to meet someone which is also doable if you give him a nudge in the right direction. Although I have to say that this one is a pretty lame ass resolution if you ask me. And three, you meet 'the one'. Personally, I'm all for number three – you need a little lovin' in your life, Bell."

"Oh, I'm so for number three, I think you definitely pick that one," Alice chimed in. No surprises there really.

"Three. For sure." Tanya had obviously grown tired of this argument and had turned to her phone to send text messages.

"Three, three, three…" Al and Rose started to chant, and with each repeat of that horrid number, my face grew hotter.

"And the winner is….number one," I announced with a bow. Better to nip this shit in the bud and just aim for something remotely achievable.

"Are you kidding me," Al sputtered. "You seriously can't go for a measly promotion when true love is on the table."

"So says the girl with the dream job. And husband, I might add. No, I'm sticking with my decision. I really want to write, and my resolution is to do just that. That job is mine," I said with finality, discussion ended.

"You can't say we didn't try, Bell," Al sighed. She most certainly wasn't happy with my decision, but knew better and let it be. If there was one thing that I was, it was stubborn. When I had made my mind up, nothing short of a miracle could change it.

So there was our New Years Eve, 2009. Alice was pregnant, and had dropped the bombshell that she was adopted. Her goal was to find her birth parents before she had the baby.

Rose had her heart set on a wedding, with all the bells and whistles. If she could be married in January and pop out a baby by November she would be over the moon. I would love to say that I was hoping that it all happened for her, but that would be a huge ass lie. There were just no words for Royce. Well, no respectable ones anyway.

Tanya wanted to become principal dancer and to own the stage. Of all of us, she was the one that I was most certain of achieving her goal. When her mind was set, she could be downright vicious to get what she wanted.

And last of all me. I had chosen the decidedly boring but totally safe decision to further my career. No love, no fairytales, not even something remotely exciting. Safe. Once again, little Bella Swan opted for the safe alternative.

We partied on for the next couple of hours discussing everything and nothing. Old stories were rehashed and embellished as our voices carried down the beach, louder and louder as more alcohol was consumed. Once again, our New Year's party was full of laughs and love. We each went our separate ways at the end of the night with promises to keep in touch with regular updates, so that we could all be informed of the group's progress with their resolutions.

I fell asleep that night without a thought of any promotions at work. Instead I passed out to the vision of green eyes, tousled hair and crooked smiles. I told myself that this was the last night that I would indulge that particular fantasy, the last time that I would covet something that would never truly be mine. Unfortunately, my sober mind didn't get that memo.

Two weeks into the New Year and things were looking pretty good for me at the office. One of our regular writers had just announced that she was pregnant, and would be taking a year off starting in May. This could be my big chance, to actually get my name out there and get myself published. It would only be the social pages; weddings, parties and events which was not really my forte, but hell, it was better than selling advertising space and I so wanted to see my name in print.

I called Rose to give her the good news, even though I hadn't even put my name forward for the job yet. She was excited for me, but a little bitter because things weren't travelling so well with Royce.

"That's great news, Bell. I just know that you'll get it, they would be crazy not to see the potential in you," Rose said, before she let out a mother of a sigh.

"So what's up, buttercup? Why do I get the impression that something is bothering you?" I asked her, as I waited for her to complain about Royce. Again.

"Oh, it's nothing really. It's just Royce. I've hardly seen him for the past couple of weeks, and so I haven't been able to put any of my plans into place. You know, the ones where I convince him - in an understated way of course – that he wants to get down on bended knee and propose. I don't know if it will ever happen." Again, another huge sigh from Rose.

"Rose, it's only been what, two weeks since we decided on our resolutions. You didn't seriously think that you would have it in the bag already did you? I mean I know that you can be pretty persuasive, but don't you want him to ask you from the heart and not just because you have coerced him into it." I'm pretty sure that this wasn't what she wanted to hear, but I hated the thought of my beautiful and confident Rose demeaning herself by trying to coax a proposal out of that waste of space.

"Bella, it's not like I'm going to tie him up until he asks me to marry him. Give me a little credit. I'm just going to give him a nudge in the right direction, so that he knows that he couldn't possibly live without me. I just haven't seen him yet, but believe me when I do he'll whip it out so quick, he'll never know what hit him."

"Rose…" I started to scold. I did not want to imagine Royce whipping out anything and that was an image that was going to stick. Unfortunately.

"Get your mind out of the gutter. A _ring_, Bell. He's going to whip out a _ring_ so quick he won't know what hit him. I can see it all now." I could just imagine the predatory look on her face at that moment. Normally I would say that Rose would get whatever she wanted, but in this case, I wasn't so sure.

"Ok, so I'm gonna go now, before I hear all the gory details on just what you intend to do to him. Just wanted to give you a progress report. Oh and if you speak to Al or Tanya, pass on my news. I was going to call them but I have some dogs to walk. Love you, Rose. And hey, good luck!"

"Baby, luck has got nothing to do with it. Love you right back, I'll call you next week." With that, I hung up and rushed out of the door, knowing that I was going to be at least five minutes late for my dog walking date.

I looked at my calendar and noted that today was February the 1st. I knew this, I had already checked the calendar three times, but I couldn't believe that it took me this long to finally get up the nerve to speak to my boss about taking over Jessica's position.

There were no excuses really, my boss was a very nice man who I knew that I could talk to but each time I tried, the nerves took over and I backed out.

Finally, when I had had enough of wimping out, I marched myself over to the boss' office and knocked on the door.

"Eric, can I have a word with you please?" I muttered, totally proud of myself that I got that far.

"Sure, Bella. Come on in and have a seat." So far, so good.

Taking a seat, I suddenly had no idea of what I was going to say. I mean, I'm no idiot. I do know how to ask for what I wanted, but I just didn't know how to phrase it. Did I talk myself up a little, essentially sell myself to him? Or did I just casually mention that I was looking for something new to do, a new challenge?

"Please tell me you're not leaving us. We would hate to lose you, and with Jess going and all, it would make it tough on all of us." Great, perfect opportunity for me to just put it all out there.

"Actually, that is what I wanted to talk to you about, Eric. Not the leaving part, I'm really enjoying myself here, but I was hoping to venture into something new. I was hoping that you would maybe consider me for Jessica's position." There, I did it. All those extra wrinkles and loss of sleep over nothing.

"Oh, Bella. I didn't know that you were even interested in writing about social events. I've already assigned that position to Lauren; she came to me as soon as she heard about the opportunity. I am sorry though, maybe if you had come to me a couple of weeks ago we could have worked something out."

"Um, well no problem really. I just thought that I would express my interest, but I totally understand that you need to get things sorted out quickly. But thanks for your time," I said in a rush. I just wanted to get out of there and bang my head on the nearest wall. Of course, if I had just gone in there as soon as I thought about it, I could totally have been in a different situation. But no, play it safe Bella had missed the boat yet again.

"Hey, Bella. If something else comes up, you will be the first person I come to. Ok kid?" Kid? Eric was two years older than me and when I heard him call me that, it just felt like he insulted me. Kind of like rubbing salt in the wound, so to speak.

Nodding, I quickly made my way back to my cubicle before anyone could see the sour look on my face. I didn't really have any friends here at the paper, and the last thing that I wanted was to see Lauren's smug face. I hoped that she never found out about our conversation.

The day dragged without one single sale and when five o'clock hit, I was out of the office before anyone could even say goodbye. I just wanted to get home, pour a glass of wine and contemplate my bad day. My only hope was that some new project would come up at work that I could apply myself to. Well that, or that Lauren came down with some rare disease and couldn't take the job. That wasn't too much to ask, was it?

With my wine poured and my feet propped up on the table, I wondered how the rest of the dream team were going. Hopefully they were doing a lot better than me.

After my third glass I started to drift off, pleasantly numb from the wine. No longer was I worried about my job or how my girls were doing. My last conscious thoughts were of only one thing – or one person I should say. Those damn green eyes, that bloody tousled hair and that annoying crooked smile. But this was the last night that I was going to think about it.

Yeah, right.

**A/N: Thanks for reading. I know it's a lot to ask for reviews when I have been so slack in updating, but would love to know if there is still any interest at all out there for this story.**

**Until next time...**

Bebe


	6. Chapter 6Alice:Of Emotions and Argument

T**hank you to all that read and reviewed last time. I know that it was a long time between updates so I am thankful to those that have stuck with my little tale. This time around, it hasn't taken so long to update, hopefully I will be able to get one chap out every 1 - 2 weeks.**

**Anyway, Twilight and it's characters are not mine.**

**This story is rated M for mature content.**

_Alice_

"Calm down Ali, you knew that this whole process was going to take time and a whole lot of energy. Running yourself into the ground like this is no good for any of us, including little bean," Jasper said quietly as he rubbed my back in soothing circles.

He was right. I knew that I was working too hard at everything, but that didn't make it any easier for me to just let go and relax. My mind was always racing and it felt like I had so much to do in such a short space of time. Even as I lay there trying to calm down, I was still mentally going over a list of things that I had to achieve in the coming months.

First of all was getting ourselves prepared for our little bundle of joy to arrive sometime in late September. While Jasper was content to just take each day as it came, I was up to my eyeballs in paint samples and material swatches for the nursery. Not to mention furniture, clothes, toys, nappies, bottles and every other conceivable thing that according to my many baby books were 'must haves'. I knew that it was going to be hard work, but I really did not realize how many things that we need to organize before the baby arrived.

On top of all things baby, we were relocating our business to Port Angeles. Jasper was taking care of most of the details there, but I wanted to be involved in every aspect of this move. From having a say in who we hired right through to our new premises, I wanted to be there for all of the important decisions.

Last, but definitely not least was the little matter of finding my birth parents. It had been almost 2 months since New Year's Eve and I was pretty much no closer to finding them then I was that day. Not for lack of trying I might add.

"You're right, Jazz. No one knows better than I do that I need to chill out a bit, but it's all just so frustrating. I didn't think that everything would be so hard. And I mean, _everything_. Baby stuff, work stuff, finding my parents. It seems like I'm constantly on the go and I'm getting nowhere." I let out a little huff, my frustration about to take over again.

"How can you say that you're getting nowhere? The business is fine – you know that we have it all pretty much sorted out now. And little bean here isn't going to know if you don't have all of his socks color co-ordinated." Jasper looked at me with a smirk, knowing all too well that this is something that I absolutely would do.

I leaned over and shoulder bumped him as I tried to hide my own smile.

"Don't pick on me, Jazz. And what makes you so sure it's going to be a little boy?" I asked him.

"What do you mean?" he asked and his eyes showed his confusion.

"You just said 'his socks'. It's not the first time either. That's the third time that you said his, and just this morning your exact words if I remember correctly were 'that's my boy'. Remember when I said I thought I felt something, that small flutter."

"Huh. I hadn't noticed any of that, but you're right. Maybe it's my daddy intuition kicking in," Jasper chuckled, obviously pleased with the prospect of having a son.

"Al, if it is a boy, I kind of have a name that has been in my family for generations and would like to keep the tradition going if you don't mind. It's kind of an unusual name, but I'm sure you'll come to love it. It would really mean so much to me and my whole family, so could you please just consider it?"

Now I was worried. Jasper was generally a man of few words, so when he began to ramble about the name and how much it meant to him and his family, I knew that it must be bad. I had visions of my little man with unfortunate names such as Wilbur, Neville and Sherman. Surely it couldn't be that bad.

"Jazz, spit it out. What name are you thinking about? I can't give you an answer if I don't even know what name it is." This is where I wanted to walk away with my fingers in my ears and singing lalalala so that I didn't have to hear what I was about to. In hindsight, maybe I should have.

"Percival."

"Excuse me?" There is no way in heck that my child would ever be called Percival.

"Actually, all first born males of each generation have been named Percival Cedric Whitlock. But I'm sure we could get away with just the first name." Jasper looked at me with a smile, like he actually had made a concession for me by dropping the second name.

"You're kidding, right? Jazz, there is no way that I will name my son Percival. I can't imagine in what world you would think that this is ok." By now I was off the bed as I stared at Jasper in frustration and disbelief.

"Al, I just asked you to consider it. It would mean so much to my family. To me." He tried to flash me those baby blues but I wasn't having any of it.

"Uh uh. Don't try to sweet talk me Jasper Whitlock. No way, no how." I gave him a look that dared him to keep talking.

"Well, just think about it," he muttered as he walked from the room, clearly more than a little upset at my outburst.

Did I know that I was being unreasonable by not even talking it through with him? Sure. Could I have handled the situation better so that I didn't cause yet another argument? I guess. Was I going to go after him and apologise? No chance.

The last couple of months had been strained between Jasper and I. These damn pregnancy hormones had really started to get on my nerves, and I was positive that Jazz felt the same way. Unfortunately, I couldn't control them. The smallest thing set me off without warning and it was like something or someone has swooped in and taken control of my body and mind. I really hated to use it as an excuse, but it was what I felt myself doing day in and day out.

A few days after our latest disagreement, Jazz and I found ourselves at an impromptu dinner with all of the girls and their partners. It was one of the rare times that we all managed to get together outside of New Year's Eve, and while I didn't look forward to spending any time with Royce, I was ecstatic that I would get to catch up with my friends. I also hoped that I could talk to them about what had been going on with my life, and how I felt that I was slowly sinking with no life raft in sight.

Of course, we were the first to arrive. Jazz and I sat at our table for a full ten minutes before anyone else showed up, and it was not lost on me that we were surrounded by an awkward silence that whole time. In the whole time that we had been together, I could never remember a time that our relationship had been so strained.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Rose, Royce, Tanya and Edward heading over to our table. Rose was hanging off of Royce's arm as she whispered in his ear. He just patted her hand in that condescending way of his and turned his attention to some other woman who stood by the bar. It was typical Royce behaviour but it still made me feel like scratching his eyes out. It never ceased to amaze how a confident, smart and beautiful woman like Rose could not see through him.

Tanya followed behind them and was at least three steps in front of Edward, totally unaware that he seemed uncomfortable and out of place. Edward was in total contrast to Royce. He was a genuinely nice guy and followed Tanya around like a lost puppy. He was always supportive of her, and it frustrated me no end that she took him for granted.

"Ali," Rose called as she approached the table with a huge smile on her face. I started to get up to hug her but she stopped me and leaned over to hug me while I was still seated.

"Don't get up, Al. You need all the rest you can get, a lady in your condition and all." She smirked at me and then leaned over to give Jazz a hug.

"I'm not an invalid Rose, I can still manage the basic things," I retorted. I could already feel myself getting agitated even though I knew that I was being completely ridiculous.

"Whatever you do, Rose, don't treat her any differently than you normally would. You'll hear about it for days after," Jasper said, and though I knew that he was just kidding around, it still managed to piss me off. I huffed and rolled my eyes at the both of them. Now was most definitely not the time for another one of my hormone-induced rants.

"Tanya, Edward," I called out as I waved the two of them over to the table. I seriously needed to divert my attention and think about something else. In the background I heard Rose quiz Jasper about my behaviour, but I tuned them out as I concentrated on the recent arrivals.

"Hey guys," Tanya said as she stood by a chair and waited for Edward to catch up. I didn't realize what she was doing until I saw him pull out her chair for her to sit down on. She did so without a thank you or even a glance at her boyfriend, and now I had to return my attention back to Rose so I didn't question Tanya on it and start yet another argument. Geez, I really needed to control myself or I would be left at this huge table by myself before the evening was through.

"So, Bells is coming tonight right?" I asked them. "She's not going to back out again because she's the only one here by herself is she?" Bella had been known to on occasion make up elaborate excuses to get out of group dinners. Even though she had known us for most of her life, she still felt uncomfortable being the odd one out.

"Yeah, I spoke to her a couple of hours ago and she promised that she would be here," Tanya said. "In fact, she's actually bringing someone along with her," Tanya added while she looked over her menu.

"What, like a guy?" Edward spoke up, before he too picked up his menu to look over. Strange, he hadn't spoken a word since he had been here and it took me by surprise.

"Apparently, she's bringing this guy called Marcus tonight. She works for him, and she said that she just asked him spur of the moment." Tanya shrugged her shoulders as if to say it was no big deal when in fact, Bella asking anyone on a date was a huge step for her. She must really like this guy.

"So she works with him at the paper?" Edward asked us, to which we all just shrugged. What I wanted to know was just why he was so interested in Bella's love life.

"No, I think she walks his dog, but I'm not too sure," Tanya answered him again, this time as she studied her nails. Now I know that T can be self-absorbed at times, but her conduct had really started to annoy me. She knew as well as Rose and I did that Bella struggled with her social life, and I really thought that she would be a little bit more interested in what was going on. Not to mention the fact that she all but ignored her boyfriend. Her boyfriend who was overly engrossed in one of her best friends love life and there was not one flicker of acknowledgement from her. Interesting.

Just as I began to delve a little further, I heard a small commotion towards the front of the restaurant. It was then that I knew that Bella and her date had arrived.

"I see Bella decided to join us, but not before she tripped and landed on her ass," Rose chuckled.

Bella made her way to the table, red as a lobster.

"Making a grand entrance as always Miss Swan," Rose said as she tried to stifle her laughter.

"Laugh it up, Rose. How did I know that there was going to be a step up at the front door," Bella responded as she glared at Rose.

"Oh, I don't know, Bells. Maybe because there is a sign that says 'watch your step' on the front door."

The table all laughed quietly, well, quietly except for Rose who slapped her leg and guffawed loudly. Royce sat next to her with a look of disgust on his face. Most would think that it was aimed towards Bell, but I knew that this particular look was for Rose. He always tried to control her actions while out in public, and hated nothing more than what he described as 'Rosalie creating a scene'. Ass.

Bella took her seat, and we all fell quiet while we waited for her to introduce her date. When she finally looked up from her menu, she found that we were all staring at her.

"What," she asked, one eyebrow raised.

I tried to be subtle as I looked between her and her date, as we all waited for introductions. After a few loaded moments, she still had not said anything so as usual, Rose took the bull by the horns.

"Oh, for god's sake, Bella. Who is your date?"

"Um, shit. Yeah, sorry about that. Guys this is Marcus, Marcus these are my lovely, if not so subtle friends," she said softly as she gave us all a glare.

Jasper was the first to introduce himself. He shook his hand and then turned to me.

"And this is my lovely wife, Alice," he drawled and leaned over to give my hand a squeeze. I knew that he was trying to suck up to me, which only made me feel like more of a bitch. I hated that I felt like this, but I hated it more that I wanted to snatch my hand out of his grasp, and it took all I could to leave it there on the table in his.

Conversation flowed relatively easily over the course of the evening, and after we had all finished our meals, Rose announced that the girls all needed to use the rest room. In other words, we were going to meet up privately to no doubt discuss Bella's date.

I stood up, but not before Jazz got out of his seat to help me.

"I'm perfectly capable of standing, Jasper," I bit out loudly. He just looked at me before he sat back down and tried to strike up conversation with the guys. I could feel eyes on me, but I just walked towards the restroom without a glance back.

"So, what's going on," Rose asked and I looked at Bella expectantly.

"Not with her," Rose said, "but I will get to that later. I meant with you, Al. Why are you treating Jasper like the antichrist?"

"What are you talking about? I thought we were here to talk about Bella's date," I questioned her.

"Ali, everyone can see that you guys are having issues. Every time he opens his mouth to say something, you shoot him down or glare at him. This is not the Alice that we know and love," Bella added to the conversation.

"What the heck do you mean?" I knew exactly what they were talking about but I was too embarrassed by my behaviour to admit it.

"Cut the crap, Al. You're treating him like dirt and you know it. Spill," demanded Rose.

"I don't know guys, I just can't help myself. I mean, I knew that hormones would make me act a little crazy, but this is just out of control. Every thing that he says annoys me and I know that I am being irrational but I just can't help it. Every thing is just so fucked up." Bella let out a small gasp and Rose just looked at me. I never swore, and they knew that it must be something serious for me to drop the f-bomb.

Over the next twenty minutes I poured my heart out to them. From my freak-outs over the baby to the frustration of not being able to find out anything about my birth parents. It felt better to get it off my chest, but I still felt the load of my problems as they weighed me down.

Rose was going to help me look for my parents. She had a friend who was a private investigator who may be able to help me, and I just nodded as she talked about what steps to take in that direction.

I felt a little better as we left the bathroom, and as we were about to head out the doors and back to the restaurant, I stopped in my tracks and turned to face them all.

"Just hold up a minute. I thought we came in here to talk about Bella, and I really want the scoop on what's going on with her date." It felt good to get the attention off me, and I did really want to know what was going on.

"Well, there's not much to tell really," Bella mumbled. "He's a nice guy who asked me out. I initially said no, but then realized that I would be once again at a table full of couples so decided to ask him to come along. No big deal," she shrugged her shoulders.

"Bells, this is a big deal for you. You never go on dates," I questioned her softly.

"Look, Al, if you're asking me if he's the one, then I would have to say no. I like him, but as a friend and nothing more. Now can we just drop it?" She said as she started to move away from us. I let the others go past us, as I grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward me.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I just want you to be happy, you know that right?" She nodded her head so I continued on.

"I want you to know what it feels like, Bell to have someone to go home to, to have someone to want to be that everything for you. Like I have with Jasper. Now Rose and Royce, they are a different story and I don't even want to go there. But Tanya has that with Edward - not that she can even see past herself to see how much that guy does for her. She just makes me so cranky sometimes." I saw a look of hurt cross Bella's face and tried to remember what I said. She felt about Royce the same way that I did, and she knew what a great guy Edward was, even if Tanya didn't appreciate him. Was that what this was about? Bella and Edward were great friends, and I guessed that she was probably pissed at Tanya for the way she acted around him.

"Is this about Edward?" I asked. Again, that look of pain crossed her features. So I guessed that I hit the nail on the head.

"No!" she exclaimed much too quickly and loudly.

"Let's just get back to the table before everyone leaves without us," she muttered as she walked off.

I was left to ponder her strange reaction as I walked back to the table. She had certainly acted strange when I mentioned Edward, and come to think of it, he had acted pretty strange himself for most of the evening. For once he didn't accommodate Tanya's every whim, and then there was the way he kept quizzing us about Bella's date before they arrived. He really wasn't that friendly to Marcus at the table and I caught him as he watched Bella on more than one occasion.

Normally, I would have gone into sleuth mode, to try and figure out what was going on. Tonight though, I had problems of my own. I sighed to myself as I headed back to the table to sit down. I noticed that Jazz didn't stand up to pull my chair out for me, and unreasonably it pissed me off. Only half an hour ago I was berating him for trying to help me and now I was annoyed that he wasn't. I truly was a basket case.

Dinner was over and we all said our goodbyes with promises to catch up. The ride home was again filled with silence, and it was just as awkward as before. As we neared our house, Jasper spoke up.

"Ali, I think we need to talk. You are taking on too much and I think that it is putting a strain on your health. Not to mention the fact that we are arguing night and day about the most stupid of things." He was right of course, but again I felt annoyed that he didn't think I could handle it.

"So what you're saying is that I'm not capable. Is that it? That I should be barefoot and pregnant, at home on the couch each and every day because I couldn't possibly handle anything more than that. Thanks, Jazz. Great to know that you have so much faith in me." Nothing really made sense to me at that moment, and apart from feeling like crap about what Jasper had said, I really just wanted to get home and call Rose to remind her about speaking to her friend who could help me find my parents.

"Christ, Ali, would you listen to yourself. You are putting words into my mouth and it's taking my all to not argue with you about it. I love you, I always have, but this is not how we operate. We talk things through, we usually never fight and I don't know how to cope with all of this. Just stop shutting me out and talk to me." I could tell that he was frustrated, his hands gripped the wheel tightly and his lips were drawn in a thin line.

"Surprisingly, this is not all about you. You have no idea what I am going through, and you never will. You have your happy family, you have your job and you have me at home to deal with all of this baby stuff. I am fine with that, but I don't need you telling me what to do every minute, and I most certainly don't need you hovering over me. Just back off." The look on his face said it all, and I knew that I had gone too far.

"Fuck this, Alice," Jasper yelled as he pulled into our driveway.

"Don't you dare talk like that to me, Jazz. You think you can just…." My words caught in my throat as a searing pain tore through my abdomen.

Jasper looked at me when I didn't finish my sentence.

"Ali, what's wrong. Is it the baby?" He asked me, a terrified look plastered on his face.

"Hurts," was all that I managed to get out as I put my hands on my stomach. Jasper reached over to grab my hand as another searing pain took a hold of me once again.

I didn't need to ask Jasper where he was going as he reversed out of our driveway and sped down the road like a bat out of hell. I knew that he was taking me to the hospital, just like I knew that my baby was in danger.

I couldn't recall the trip to the hospital or what had happened when we arrived. The last thing I remembered was being wheeled away from Jasper on a hospital bed and the look of utter despair on his face.

"Jazz," I called out as I was pulled away from him. He looked up at me, his eyes full of unshed tears.

"Percy is going to be just fine." It was ridiculous to think that I had fought him on something as stupid as a name. Now, I just prayed to god that I got to even have the privilege of naming him.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. A bit of an angst filled chapter, but I knew you guys were waiting for something like it.**

**Don't be too harsh on Alice. She has so much on her plate right now, and those hormones are just kicking her in the butt. Doesn't make it right, but it happens.**

**Anyway, as always would love to hear your thoughts? Loved/liked/hated it, I'm always interested.**

**Bebe**


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